MYBprofile: a wise woman named Stuart.
Meet Stuart (She’s on the right in both pics. That’s her cutie hubby. And the other is yours truly!). If you were to meet her like I did, she was your soon-to-be roommate you’d never met in a new city in a new apartment. “We’ll probably just be roommates or whatever,” we both thought. Well, we thought wrong.
Amidst times over the past 7 years I will cherish forever (with many more to come!), Stu and I became not just great friends, but great workout buddies. From running to the gym to Core Fusion, this girl is a constant inspiration by somehow always getting out the door no matter what (not to mention keeping a rocking social calendar, an immaculate home, and a skyrocketing career). So it was about time I asked her: How do you do it?!
Her answers below:
Why MYB/MYB How?:
I’ve always been a competitive athlete but ever since college (after shockingly not getting asked to try out for the UNC women’s soccer team…totally robbed ha!), I’ve had to find ways to challenge myself. I primarily stuck to running but as I get older, I needed something more full body to help strengthen my back and core and improve my posture (which only helps with the running), I turned to Core Fusion at Exhale Spa (yay!). Now I do a mix of the two every week-aim to get in at least 2 runs and 3 classes a week.
What’s my motivation?
A better mood: For as long as I can remember, working out and breaking a sweat was the #1 way for me to keep a good attitude. Going too many days without a good workout, always makes me sour (ooh girl!). When I am going to bed at night and groaning about having to wake up early for that run/workout class, I remind myself “even though its hard and you want to sleep, you will be happier once you get out there”. And darn it, how right I am! Nothing is better than getting to work and knowing that my workout is behind me makes the rest of the day go better all around.
Clearing my head: After a long day at work, strapping on some running shoes and listening to some good tunes (R&B jams are my fav) or going to a hard workout class and hearing some new hip hop songs (hello Usher, Big Boi, R Kelly…don’t judge) makes all the stresses go away - even if only momentarily.
Hard muscles…Yeah, the results from working out are great too and definitely keep me at it (and it’s nice being able to eat dessert after a good run!). (Note from MYB: it’s working! Stu is officially smoking!)
How to fit it in:
Scheduling…As life gets more hectic and there are more things to juggle, I realize that my type A scheduling does pay off—each Sunday, I look ahead and say to myself “how can I fit in 5 or 6 workouts this week?” I also do this for cooking/grocery shopping so I can balance out my workouts with healthy, fun meals (as opposed to having to order in every night because as we all know, working out is only half of the equation!). (MYBnote: she’s as fab a cook as she is a runner!) I live by my outlook calendar and I mark each run/core class on it that I want to try to make/fit in and it keeps me disciplined. Some may call it neurotic, but I don’t know any other way!
Making it Fun…I am lucky that I have friends and a husband who like to workout and enjoy doing it together. Some of my best times are on long runs chatting about everything (thanks Em) or knowing that friends will be there at class in the dark and cold (thanks Em and Rae!) or making it to the gym so we will be able to eat that yummy pasta dinner or that bagel brunch (thanks Matt).
MYBnote: Now you see what I mean about the whole “wise woman” thing, yes?
